ACQUISITION OF SPANISH NATIONALITY

*By birth or by descent- The traditional doctrine distinguishes between acquisition of nationality by birth in the territory of the State and acquisition of nationality by descent whereby the child acquires the nationality of his parents. In some cases, individuals of Spanish origin held a nationality other than Spanish at the time of birth.

According to the Spanish Constitution, no individual of Spanish origin may be deprived of his nationality (art.11.2) which excludes deprivation by court ordered or administrative sanctions. Article 11.3 of the Spanish Constitution states that Spaniards do not lose their nationality even if they acquire another nationality from an Ibero-American country or from any of the countries that has an agreement with Spain, such as the following:

Andorra

Philippines

Equatorial Guinea

Portugal

*Automatic Nationality- Spanish nationality is acquired automatically without having to declare it, have it authorized by an authority, nor register it with the Civil Registry when dealing with individuals linked by parentage, minors adopted by Spaniards, etc.